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Sun Hoodies?

Original Post
earl mcalister · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 241

Being an ultra-white, genetically unfortunate ginger kid that spends a lot of time in the sun I was wondering what everyone thought about the various sun hoodies out there?

I have the Kuhl Coffeena hoody:

Cooffeena

I like this jacket's fit, color, and the fact that it is full zip and has two zip pockets. I own it in a large (usually wear a Patagonia medium) and it is loose but stays tucked in well in a climbing harness and allows me to use the thumb holes without feeling restricted too much. The only thing I dislike about it is the fabric is extremely fragile. If I walk too close to a spiky bush out here in the mojave where I work the shirt is tattered easily.

Other options I was looking at are the Men's Polarized hoody:

Polarized

And the tropic comfort hoody:

Tropic Comfort

Which of these two hoodies do people prefer for climbing and hiking? Which ones fit best tucked in a harness (AKA will stay put when I lift my arms)? Major differences between the two? Durability? Also, any other options I should look at. I'm not set on Patagonia.

Thanks fellow whities!

GhaMby Eagan · · Heaven · Joined Oct 2006 · Points: 385

I have used both the Tropic Comfort and Polarized hoody. The fabrics are slightly different, as well as the fit. I most typically wear a large in Patagonia, but the tropic comfort was too short for me, you would think that having thumb loops would cause them to lengthen the sleeves an inch or so???, I ended up giving the tropic comfort to a friend after using it regularly for an entire summer doing water sampling in the Bishop sun. I had the Tropic Comfort in white and it worked well as long as there was a bit of a breeze, otherwise it was too hot-but it still kept the sun off me. The fabric pilled and pulled rather easily as well.

I now have the Polarized Hoody in a large, dark blue. I love the way it looks, and it isn't as hot as I thought it would be (found it on Ebay for $30!!!), and the material feels more like cotton than the tropic comfort did. I think the material is a touch thicker, but I just try to stay out of the sun. I did a chimney in Yosemite last weekend with the polarized hoody on, and despite both my shoulders and elbows getting raspberries on them the shirt looks as good as new.

For style and durability for climbing I prefer the Polarized, for really long days in the sun I would like to have the Tropic comfort in an xl.

Hope that helps!

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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